Amaretti cookies!

I had been obsessing over almond cookies for quite a while now. As you know, I made some crunchy almond cookies a few weeks back, but I remained unsatisfied as I was looking for a chewy almond cookie, like the true Italian Amaretti cookies that I love so much! After trying 2 different recipes I was losing hope, but luck came my way, or perhaps just the blog Joy Of Baking, and I finally found THE recipe for Amaretti cookies. They are chewy and simply delicious! Your friends and family will think that you are a domestic goddess like Nigella (little do they know that this easy recipe only has 4 ingredients!). My batch of cookies must have stayed on my dining room table for about 5 minutes when the guests arrived. Luckily, I had stashed a few away 🙂

Ingredients

2 cups of almond flour
1 c white sugar (superfine sugar)
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon of almond extract

Method

-Preheat oven to 300 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

-Beat the egg whites until they become firm (2 minutes)

-Mix together the almond flour and sugar. Add the vanilla and almond extract and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs.

-Take a tablespoon of the dough and roll it into  a ball. Put it on the parchment paper and flatten it slightly with a spoon (or your finger) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving.

Note: I changed the recipe so if you would like the original version, go to the Joy the Baker blog…

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Food, Inc. : a must see documentary!

For those of you that haven’t seen the brilliant documentry Food, Inc. run to your closest video store NOW!

The documentary demonstrates how food has been modified over the years, and how cost has impacted the nutrional value of food, the environment and the animals. Director Robert Kenner takes his camera into slaughterhouses and factory farms. We see how chickens grow too fast to walk properly (even the farmers are disgusted by the new “modern” techniques that are imposed on them). We discover why ammonia filler is in our fastfood burgers, why there’s been E Coli in peanut butter, and how Walmart can even help make a difference.

A must see, this film will change your eating habits forever, one step at a time!

And for those who want to watch Food, Inc. for free, you can see it on CBC.ca

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nice summery asian shrimp salad

Know here’s a great recipe that is tasty and quick to make. All you need is that japanese Wafu sauce! I found mine in the grocery store, but you can also find it in asian grocery stores and fish shops…

A few years back, I was obsessed by a salad dressing that was served at one of my favorite sushi restaurants. Everytime I would ask the waitress what was in it, she would giggle behind her braces and say:”oh, secret recipe, cannot say“. Little did I know that the dressing was actually from a bottle, and it was called Wafu. I luckily stumbled upon this dressing a few years back, and for those of you who are familiar with Sushi Shop, they serve this sauce with their spring maki’s. So here’s a fresh, summery salad that is inspired by their Shrimp spring maki and it’s a whole bunch of yummyness!

Ingredients

Matane shrimp

1 cucumber

1 carrot

sesame seeds

Wafu dressing

Preparation

Toss it all together and voilà!

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